Jackie Farry, tour manager, Nirvana associate and nanny to Frances Bean Cobain, dies aged 58

Jackie Farry, a veteran tour manager who was a close associate of rock band Nirvana – so much so that she was a nanny for Frances Bean Cobain – has died aged 58.

Farry, who was first diagnosed with cancer in 2003, died of complications from a lung disease, US media reported.

Born in New York, Jacquelyn Beth Farry was raised in the controversial Synanon community, a California-formed drug rehabilitation community turned religious cult, before relocating to Long Island

She began her career in music at Homestead Records, where she worked as a receptionist for the label that preceded Matador Records.

Farry then moved into promoter roles at Atlantic and Epic, while befriending a number of musicians as a popular presence on the New York scene.

“Her passion for music and the magnetic pull she seemed to have on everyone around her led to her becoming Frances Bean Cobain’s nanny from birth to toddlerhood – a role she cherished deeply,” an article in The Hollywood Reporter said.

In the Nineties, Farry worked as a tour manager for acts including Elliot Smith, The Lemonheads, Stereolab and The John Spencer Blues Explosion.

Following her diagnosis with cancer, the music industry rallied to throw a number of “F*** Cancer” benefit concerts in her honour, with performances from bands such as The Breeders and Guided by Voices.

Farry was the person from whom Kurt Cobain’s famous cardigan – worn when Nirvana taped their MTV Unplugged sessions in November 1993 – was obtained for auction. She sold it reluctantly in 2014, in order to pay for medical expenses, and the collector later decided to list it at auction.

The garment, which was accompanied by both a handwritten letter and a typed, signed letter from Farry, sold for a record $334,000 at auction in 2019, the most expensive sweater ever sold at auction.

“It’s very important that we don’t wash it,” Darren Julien of Julien’s Auctions told Rolling Stone. “The stains are still there. There’s even cigarettes burns that you can see on the sweater.”

The cardigan was described on Julien’s Auctions’ website as a Manhattan-brand ”blend of acrylic, mohair and Lycra with five-button closure (one button absent) with two exterior pockets, a burn hole and discoloration near left pocket and discoloration on right pocket”.

Farry’s longtime friend and associate Janet Billig Rich, an artist manager, producer and music supervisor, said: “Jackie’s love for music was matched only by her sharp wit, humour and magnetic personality.

“She was a beacon for friends and strangers alike, drawing people in with her infectious energy.”

On Sunday 12 January she wrote on Instagram: “Jackie Farry passed at 3am this morning. Her bright light has dimmed and our collective hearts are broken.”